Congratulations to Shelby King, who is getting ready to graduate college and spend a few months in the beautiful country of Ireland. And yes, she's taking that pretty orange bike along for the adventure. So of course it was only fitting that the bike be in her graduation portraits as well. Here's a few of my favorites. Happy Friday!

With all the rain we've had lately, I've had to reschedule a number of shoots. This not one of them. Cold, dreary, natural light is great if you need to photograph outdoor products by a campfire. And that's just what the fine folks at Evolt Creative and I did with these two products from Habit Outdoors. Available soon...as in right before Fall Hunting Season. Cheers!

When your wedding clients need a few engagement photos for their save the date cards, you make quick arrangements, squish schedules and have some fun for an hour or so. That's just what Nick, Jessica and myself did earlier this year and it was a lot of fun. In the course of an hour, they rode bicycles, posed on construction equipment, sprayed a bottle of champagne and still had time to get some "lovey dovey" pictures before the sun set. Sometime soon when our schedules align once again, we'll hit the road for some more shenanigans and photographs. In the meantime, their family and friends have these lovely gems to look forward to along with their save the date cards. 

I had the privilege of working with local music artist, Brittany Moore to create some promotional images for her to use on social media and on her new single, Where to Find You. A few Fridays back, she released her new single on iTunes and it's pretty darn great. Check it out here.

Even with the the rain, Ben and Julie's Wedding was a beautiful start to the year. Congratulations and Best Wishes, you two. Thanks for having me be a part of your beautiful celebration!

Last week, I took a few days to detach from work and life. I camped out, slept in the truck, did some fishing (caught nothing), read some books by the river, played my guitar, sat by the fire, explored some scenic roads and made some photographs. By now, you all know that this sort of detachment is a part of my routine so I'll spare you the further dialogue and share some of my images from the week. Enjoy. 

When one of your favorite clients hires you to go hike some pretty trails and take pictures along the way, you turn the assignment into a truck camping trip and take a few days to do it all. Such was the case earlier this year when I hit the road and journeyed from White Rock Mountain, to the Buffalo River Valley and then, onto Black Fork Mountain. Along the way, I slept in the back of my truck, cooked food on my my little Propane stove (minus the morning I splurged on a small town diner breakfast), and took some time to enjoy the scenery. 

As photographers, we can't change the weather so we have to roll with the punches. No rain is ideal, but a best case scenario would be a little bit of rain on at the end of engagement photos. That's exactly what happened with Paxton and Laura a couple months back. We made it through 98% of the photoshoot before it started pouring down rain. I enjoyed hanging out with these two immensely and I can't wait to celebrate with them in a couple of months!

There's not much I could say about the Mooney family that hasn't already been said. From their organization 99 Balloons, to their Atypical Podcast, they are well known and well-respected.  As an outsider looking in, it's easy to see the love that this family has for each other and for the world around them. They are an inspiring bunch and the life they live should challenge us all to see the people around us differently and beautifully.

I recently had the opportunity to work with political candidate Nicole Clowney, to create some photos for her campaign. I would attempt to summarize how cool she is, but her Facebook Page does such a good job that I feel I should simply copy and paste it here: 

This week, the workload is light and the need for adventure is high. So I am taking some time to drive, camp, paddle, pedal, explore and most importantly, breathe. The cool thing about this blog is that I can schedule posts ahead of time, to appear in my absence and I have taken full advantage of that technology. Happy Spring Break everyone.

It's been a busy start to the year, much busier than this time last year. This time last year, I couldn’t have handled it. Professionally and personally, I was drained. So drained in fact, that I started 2017 by taking a sort of sabbatical. Owning AND operating a business is hard. And this whole balancing life and work thing is a learning process that is ongoing and ever-changing. In this season of life, I have been lax in my blogging endeavors. I hope to remedy that in the coming weeks, as I’ve got some fun things to say and some cool work to share. In the meantime, I thought I would share a very quick update on where I'm at a year later and how taking a sabbatical has changed my work life. 

A heartfelt thank you to all of the newlyweds who invited me into their lives and made me (and my cameras) a part of their celebrations. This blog post contains some of my favorite wedding and engagement images from the year. Cheers and Happy New Year.

A heartfelt thank you to all of my friends and clients who made 2017 such a memorable year. This blog post contains some of my favorite commercial and lifestyle images from 2017. I couldn't pick just a few favorites, so there's a lot. Send me your medical bills for injuries related to excessive scrolling and Have a Happy New Year. 

I recently had the opportunity to hit the road and create a portrait series for the latest issue of Arkansas Wild Magazine. The upcoming issue, entitled Legends & Young Guns, profiles individuals in Arkansas who are extremely active and experienced in areas of outdoor sports and conservation. Today, I'm sharing the portrait series here on the blog. Enjoy!

Congratulations to Hunter and Lesley. These two recently celebrated their wedding in Downtown Rogers. Their celebration was spread out over the course of two days, beginning with a small, intimate ceremony held in a beautiful and historic old church. After a few pictures together, the couple joined their wedding guests at Levi's Gastrolounge and Low Bar for dinner and dancing. The celebration continued Saturday night with a larger celebration for extended family friends held at Ozark Beer Company. The original plan was to setup outside but due to cold temperatures, the kind folks at Ozark Beer decided to rearrange their entire space to accommodate everyone indoors. This was of course no small task, but the results were incredible. This was my last wedding for the year and definitely one of my all-time favorites. 

Thanks to everyone for another wonderful year of weddings and enjoy the photos. 

I'm convinced that you cannot live in Northwest Arkansas and not hear about The Preacher's Son, a fairly new restaurant and bar concept from the brilliant minds of The Ropeswing Group. The atmosphere is beautifully dramatic, yet homey and subtle. And the food...well the food is downright delicious. (You may recall a recent blog post for Food and Farm Magazine recipe for a salad that I couldn't stop eating.) Executive Chef Matt Cooper and his well-trained and good natured kitchen staff use locally sourced ingredients and insane amounts of creativity to create dishes as delicious to eat as they are beautiful to look at. I recently had the opportunity to hang out in the kitchen and create some images for the restaurant and today, I'm sharing a few of my favorites. Enjoy.

For full menu and hours, visit The Preacher's Son website.  

I recently had the opportunity to work on a publication project for Susan Schadt Press out of Memphis Tennessee. The project, a book chronicling the history and newly revitalized Shelby Farms Park, was recently completed and published. A couple weeks ago, I attended (and participated in) a book signing/launch event, a first for me as a photographer and as a living/breathing human. The finished product looks amazing and I am truly honored to be included in such a talented group of collaborators. Book design by DOXA.

Say hello to Stephen and Tristen. To celebrate their engagement, we traveled to one of their (and my) favorite places on earth, The Buffalo River Valley. There, we explored a less-than-stable house, hiked the Lost Valley hiking trail and took a dip in the Buffalo River. (they did, I watched from the shore). Enjoy the photos. 

Today on the blog, I'm happy to share some of my favorite images from Anna and Macy's Wedding. They are dear, dear friends of mine and fellow creatives as well. I am very honored that they entrusted me to creatively capture their best day ever. Congratulations & Best Wishes, you two!